Victim identified in fatal shooting in west Modesto

Authorities this morning identified the victim of a fatal shooting in a west Modesto home Wednesday evening. According to the Stanislaus County Sheriff's Department, Marty Kent, 18, was declared dead at the scene.

Marty Kent, victim of a homicide Wednesday night (01-02-13) in west Modesto.
Kent Family

Debbie Noda/dnoda@modbee.com Modesto police at the scene of a homicide at the 900 block of Leon Ave., Jan. 2, 2013.
The Modesto Bee

Debbie Noda/dnoda@modbee.com People near the scene react to the incident of a homicide at the 900 block of Leon Ave., Jan. 2, 2013.
The Modesto Bee

Debbie Noda/dnoda@modbee.com Modesto police at the scene of a homicide at the 900 block of Leon Ave., Jan. 2, 2013.
The Modesto Bee

(Erin Tracy/etracy@modbee.com) Authorities are investigating a fatal shooting at a party in Modesto on Wednesday night, Jan. 2, 2012. Deputies were called to a home in the 900 block of Leon Avenue on reports of shots fired, said Sgt. Anthony Bejaran of the Stanislaus County Sheriff's Department.

Authorities this morning identified the victim of a fatal shooting in a west Modesto home Wednesday evening. According to the Stanislaus County Sheriff's Department, Marty Kent, 18, was declared dead at the scene.

Kent's family members say that he was 17 years old and a high school senior.

Authorities are investigating the fatal shooting of an 18-year-old man at a home in west Modesto on Wednesday night.

At 6:27 p.m., Stanislaus County sheriff's deputies were called to a house in the 900 block of Leon Avenue on reports of shots fired, said Sgt. Anthony Bejaran of the Stanislaus County Sheriff's Department.

When they arrived, they found the victim's body near the doorway of the home. His name was not released pending notification of family.

Several people at the scene said the victim lived at the home on Leon and had recently graduated from Modesto High School.

Bejaran said there was a fight in front of the single-story home just before the shooting. He had no further details.

When deputies arrived, several people at the scene were detained at gunpoint and interviewed, but none was determined to be involved in the shooting.

Bejaran said investigators are looking for someone who, witnesses say, left the scene in a green Jeep.

Deputies stopped a man driving a green Jeep near Tuolumne Boulevard and Neece Drive, but the driver was determined to have no involvement in the incident, Bejaran said.

The shooting death marks the first homicide of 2013 in Stanislaus County and was the second shooting in less than a week. A 35-year-old man was shot to death in Turlock on Saturday night.

Bee staff writer Erin Tracy can be reached at etracy@modbee.com or (209)578-2366. Follow her on Twitter, @ModestoBeeCrime.